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Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology ("nanotech") is manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale. A matter compiler is a type of 3D printer that uses nanotechnology to produce objects. History 'Early Research' The concepts that seeded nanotechnology were first discussed in 1959 by renowned physicist Richard Feynman in his talk There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom, in which he described the possibility of synthesis via direct manipulation of atoms. The term "nano-technology" was first used by Norio Taniguchi in 1974, though it was not widely known. Inspired by Feynman's concepts, K. Eric Drexler used the term "nanotechnology" in his 1986 book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which proposed the idea of a nanoscale "assembler" which would be able to build a copy of itself and of other items of arbitrary complexity with atomic control. Also in 1986, Drexler co-founded The Foresight Institute (with which he is no longer affiliated) to help increase public awareness and understanding of nanotechnology concepts and implications. Thus, emergence of nanotechnology as a field in the 1980s occurred through convergence of Drexler's theoretical and public work, which developed and popularized a conceptual framework for nanotechnology, and high-visibility experimental advances that drew additional wide-scale attention to the prospects of atomic control of matter. In the 1980s, two major breakthroughs sparked the growth of nanotechnology in modern era. First, the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981 which provided unprecedented visualization of individual atoms and bonds, and was successfully used to manipulate individual atoms in 1989. The microscope's developers Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. Binnig, Quate and Gerber also invented the analogous atomic force microscope that year. Second, Fullerenes were discovered in 1985 by Harry Kroto, Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl, who together won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. C60 was not initially described as nanotechnology; the term was used regarding subsequent work with related graphene tubes (called carbon nanotubes and sometimes called Bucky tubes) which suggested potential applications for nanoscale electronics and devices. In the early 2000s, the field garnered increased scientific, political, and commercial attention that led to both controversy and progress. Challenges were raised regarding the feasibility of applications envisioned by advocates of molecular nanotechnology, which culminated in a public debate between Drexler and Smalley in 2001 and 2003. Meanwhile, commercialization of products based on advancements in nanoscale technologies began emerging. These products were limited to bulk applications of nanomaterials and did not involve atomic control of matter. Governments moved to promote and fund research into nanotechnology, such as in the U.S. with the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which formalized a size-based definition of nanotechnology and established funding for research on the nanoscale, and in Europe via the European Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. By the mid-2000s new and serious scientific attention began to flourish. Projects emerged to produce nanotechnology roadmaps which centered on atomically precise manipulation of matter and discuss existing and projected capabilities, goals, and applications. 'The Carbon Rush' One of the very first patents pertaining to the production of graphene was filed in October 2002 and granted in 2006 (US Pat. 7071258). Titled, "Nano-scaled Graphene Plates," this patent detailed one of the very first large scale graphene production processes. Two years later, in 2004 Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov at The University of Manchester extracted single-atom-thick crystallites from bulk graphite. They pulled graphene layers from graphite and transferred them onto thin SiO2 on a silicon wafer in a process called either micromechanical cleavage or the Scotch tape technique. Geim and Novoselov received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research on graphene, leading to major public and private investment in the technology. Successive research into Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs), the Soft-Template method, the hydrothermal method, and the ultrasonic exfoliation method were eventually refined by the computer industry leading to IBMs first graphene semi-conductor in 2019. IBM's success led to a boom in the consumer electronics market, spurred by US Defense Technology Transfer and research projects that saw graphene replace silicon as the primary medium for semi-conductors by 2021. DARPA and ARPAe research projects conducted in concert with the battery industry led to the first production graphene supercapacitors in 2020. Mass production of Graphene followed fairly primitive nanomanufacturing technologies, but the boom to the industry that it created led to what economists of the day called, "the Carbon Rush," with companies in every industry racing to discover new applications for Graphene, and thereby investing in new nanomanufacturing processes. The Carbon Rush in the US is largely seen as a contributing factor to the end of the Little Cold War due to its impact on the fossil fuel industry. ARPA-e opened Graphene supercapacitor and battery patents to the public, resulting in leading manufacturers to race to adopt them as a means for rapid charging, high-energy dense power supplies. By 2022, the already growing electric vehicle market saw automakers produce more vehicles powered by electricity than fossil fuels for the first time in history. That shift led to a steep decline in oil and natural gas prices that were directly tied to the Russian economic crash. Similarly, as crabon-based nano-structures began to replace rare-earth materials, and the manufacture of consumer electronics moved to domestic addative manufacturing systems, China's economic decline began to take a more pronounced drop. Across the globe, the 2020s saw the Carbon Rush as the most disruptive technological advancement since the internet. The Carbon Rush ended with the Market Crash of 2027, but nano-technology investment actually increased with ARPA-e and ARPA-h funding infusions during the Price Administration. Refinements of the nanomanufacturing of carbon-nanotube and other Fullerenes during the 2030s led to the first structural carbon nano-materials. Initially employed by the Military, nanotech structures were used primarily for the construction of new radar/lidar/sonar absorbing materials, more efficient energy storage systems, and extremely strong lightweight materials for aircraft and Armor. 'Molecular Compiler' Throughout the 2020 and 2030s, investment in carbon nano-manufacturing technologies was heavily geared toward more traditional methods like the advanced hydro-thermal method; however in the healthcare industry genetic researchers would eventually produce the progenitor for the first Molecular Compiler. One of the most well-funded programs of the Mars Corporation's terraforming program was a simple, easy to use, genetic compiler. A device that could be shipped or manufactured on Mars to allow genetic engineers to code and produce chains of DNA for insertion into bacteria and viruses for genetic modification of terraforming agents and food sources. In 2031 the first such desktop-sized device was actually produced on Mars at Spirit colony. The genetic compiler was used to great effect on Mars producing terraforming organisms and engineering new strains of heartier food sources for the colonists, but just a year after its creation, researchers at New Richmond's Praxis Group began experimenting with using the compiler to produce fullerenes like graphene and carbon-nanotubes. By creating denser arrangements of "nano-spinnerets" rope and woven fabric of carbon nanotubes could be produced at a fraction of the cost of Earth-based processes. The limits of Martian manufacturing hardware, however, forced Praxis to export further research to Earth via MarsCorp's technology transfer program. In 2035, Intervol Nano-Systems secured a joint-patent with MarsCorp for a "Molecular Compiler" that could produce a continuous ribbon of carbon nanotubes. This led directly to Earth's first space elevator, contracted by the US military through MarsCorp, LaserMotive, and Intervol ; and Praxis Group's elevator at New Richmond. The first molecular compiler was a bombshell in the nanotech industry. It enabled the production of large volumes of fullerenes at costs competitive with steel. High volume Intervol compilers were used on every major civil engineering program of the mid-21st Century, establishing Intervol's dominance over the industry. Compilers in space were used to great effect by the military to coat the Orbital Command Stations in new stealth materials, extremely strong windows, and the bulk of utility systems. Compilers were used across the Earth creating a new generation of superconducting power lines that enabled ultra-efficient energy grids. National governments funded the creation of superconducting mag-lev rail-lines, the most ambitious of which was the Mars-Transit Network. The Compilor took the Nanotech industry from specialty consumer electronics and industrial applications to being the Earth's dominant materials industry, and a high demand material for the colonies. The largest compilers in the system were used on Luna to build the continent-sized solar reflectors to warm Mars, while out at Titan the first Paraterraforming effort used compilers to tent the whole moon in a soap-bubble thick nano-tent. Similar efforts were replicated on Triton and Titania, but of all the compiler's accomplishments, none matched the Space Elevators. The first elevators were simple nano-ribbons, and in Titan's case they were paper-thin pipes for pumping nitrogen into space to be shipped down-system for Mars. By the 22nd Century, advanced compilers could build elevators robust enough to ship millions of tonnes of goods and people from the surface to space and back. By the 2080s new startups began producing more advanced compilers for homes, effectively replacing traditional 3D printers. Personal Compilers were largely limited to a base group of light elements, but on industrial scale were being used for increasingly complex construction materials, motors, and microfusion reactors. Applications Nanomaterials are used widely in the construction of infrastructure, appliances, and buildings. Most large modern structures, such as stadiums and skyscrapers, bridges, and airports, are supported by a nano-material skeleton, with nano-based concrete reinforcement. In addition, they see widespread use in major appliances and vehicles. Despite the continued usage of Zero-G forged Steel in most O'Neil ships and space stations, it is still the main material for more numerous smaller vehicles. 'Fullerenes' *Batteries *Lightweight structural material *Wires *Radiators *Semi-conductors *Superconductors *Space elevators *Biosphere Tents 'Nano-alloys' *Armor *Fusion reactor cores *Warp-field generators *Impact shields 'Smart-Materials' *Munitions *Nanites *Artificial tissue *Feed lines *Filters *Seals Category:Technology